


The Prophesy of Time Remembered

by Xejis



Category: The Underland Chronicles - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Fix-It, Gen, Time Travel, what am I doing with my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-10-08
Packaged: 2019-01-07 08:52:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12229626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xejis/pseuds/Xejis
Summary: He woke up in a familiar bed, in a familiar apartment. One he thought he had left behind. Suddenly, Gregor finds himself repeating the past trying to make sense of his new situation as he meets with friends who no longer know him and tries desperately to alter the horrors of time. Is it a dream? Or, has he been caught once again by the strings of fate and prophecy?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> As I started to tear my own heart out once again by rereading the Gregor the Overlander series, an annoying little plot bunny started knowing at my ankle until I finally acknowledged it. So, despite that fact that I really should start another fic I'll likely struggle to finish, this chapter flew off of my fingers and onto the page.
> 
> I haven't actually looked at the fandom on in a long while, so I don't know if it's been done before, but here ya go. A time travel fix-it that I know twelve-year-old me would have died for when I first read the series.
> 
> Disclaimer: Man, I wish I was Suzanne Collins. But, alas I'm a simple poor college student.

Gregor woke to the soft tap of knuckles against wood at his door and his mother's soft voice. His body tensed, ready for a battle that never came and would probably never come again, but his mind lagged behind like an old computer on its last leg.

"I'm leaving now, Gregor. Take care of Boots and Grandma for me while I'm gone." There was a whisper of a sigh, echoing with exhaustion and regret. "I'm sorry about camp, love."

He remained in bed for some time after that as his mind slowly rebooted. There was something wrong with what she said. He ran it over in his sleep-addled mind as he slowly opened his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling, a familiar ceiling…that he had not seen in a little over five years. His body seized and he choked on his breath.

_"Take care of Boots and Grandma for me while I'm gone."_

_"I'm sorry about camp."_

_"Take care of Boots and Grandma."_

_"Boots and Grandma."_

_"Grandma."_

He sucked in an unsteady breath, heart beating wildly and his eyes roved sightlessly over a familiar tiny storage room, turned bedroom.

_Grandma was dead._

"Simon! Simon where are you!?"

He rolled out of bed and ran straight to their tiny bathroom to puke his guts out in the toilet. After his rolling stomach finally settled he pressed his face against the cool plastic seat and tried to take deep calming breaths like his therapist had been trying to teach him during their last session.

Once his heartbeat slowed to a steady tempo he slowly started to get his feet, eyes catching and staying on two small hands devoid of the callouses developed from training and fight for his life in the Underground. He swallowed as another wave of nauseous rolled over him, but forced himself to finish pushing himself to his feet in to look in the slightly chipped mirror.

He nearly dove for the toilet again, or his bed to hide under the covers until he woke up. Because surely this was a dream. It had to be.

He pressed his back against the wall and slowly slid to the ground.

He wrapped his arms around himself, digging his nails into the flesh and flinching at the pain. He had nightmares and even some hallucinations after everything that happened in the Underground, but not like this. They were usually about a battle or being lost in the dark listening to the deaths of the people he cared about. His breathing started to stutter again and he forced those thoughts away.

A touch of warmth slid down his arm.

He blinked.

He looked down and winced. He had managed to dig his nails deep enough to draw blood. He sighed and mechanically dressed his wounds with the scattered supplies they had below the bathroom sink. He stared down at the red splotches on the washcloth for some time, think about how his mother was going to be so worried if she found it and he'd have to do laundry before she came back.

His mind stuttered to a halt as his surroundings slowly started to dawn on him.

'I'm in my old apartment in New York' He thought slightly dazed. 'The one with the grate straight into the Underground.'

He stared at his reflection. He knew if he searched, he would not find the scares that had faded with time, but would never fully disappear from his skin. The only indication of the horrors he went through was the haunted and slightly crazed look in his eye.

"Simon!"

He took a breath.

Even as a thousand possibilities ran through his head Gregor didn't dare to hope as he walked out of the bathroom and into the only air-conditioned room in the stifling apartment. If he began to hope, then he knew everything would fall to pieces. Like it did back then with…he cut that thought of with the vicious precision of repeated practice. He pushed open the door and found his grandmother, alive and well curled up in her quilt of former dresses.

He watched distantly as she smiled in relief and repeated half-forgotten words about a lunch pail and plowing.

_Could it really be? Could he be…?_

'No.' He popped the bubbling hope. 'This is just a dream. A little different from most of my nightmares, but still just a dream.'

"Ge-go!" A curly head popped out of the crib.

He felt a smile tug at his lips despite himself.

'Even if it's just a dream, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. It's better than reality anyway.'

He picked her up and swung her around in his arms for a few moments, making her giggle. Ignoring the crusty bits of food and slight smell he pecked her forehead and checks about a dozen times until she was laughing so hard she hiccupped and was pushing him away with tiny pudgy hands.

"No, Ge-go! No!" She laughed.

His Boots, who now went by Margaret because she was eight and decided she was too old for such a silly nickname, never let him play with her anymore.

'Of course,' He thought ruefully. 'Who would want to play with a big brother who could barely function in the polite society of a small rural town in Virginia? Who constantly zone out or retreated to the safety of his room at every opportunity? Who flinched and went pale when her friends pretend cries of death in their little fantasy games reached his ears?'

He held her close and closed his eyes.

"Ge-go?" A tiny had touched his cheek. "Ge-go sad. Ge-go have boo-boo?"

He laughed softly. It was a strangled, pathetic noise, but a laugh all the same.

A knock brought his attention back to the room, the apartment. The place and time he shouldn't be. He shook his head and marched to the door.

_Just a dream._

'I'm just reliving memories.' He thought. 'Mr. Jones mentioned it, once or twice. It must be a result of the new medication I'm taking. That's all.'

Mrs. Cormaci bustled in just like she did all those years ago, though this time he didn't have a root beer for her to take. She started on a huffy tired about the weather, but stopped when she got a good look at his face.

"Gregor, dear, are you alright? You look awful." A hand reached out to touch his forehead and he couldn't help the flinch that followed. Boots patted his cheek again, whispering 'Ge-go, boo-boo' under her breath.

Her eyes widened then narrow and he realized he had to say something quickly since apparently, this dream was not following the script.

"I, um, I'm fine Mrs. Cormaci." He tried for a smile, but wasn't sure how it looked. He was a bit rusty at it. "I just had a really nasty nightmare last night…"

He trailed off as her eyes softened.

"If you're tired dear, I don't mind looking after little Boots as you take a nap."

He shook his head.

_Even if it was a dream he would never pass up the chance to see the Underland again._

"No, no! It's okay." He explained as bright as he could manage. "I just need to move around a little to shake it off. I've got some laundry to do, so I'll take Boots to do that."

The woman was to perspective for her own good, Gregor noted sheepishly as she nodded slowly, but obviously didn't believe him. Her eyes drifted to the bandages on his arms, completely exposed as his held Boots against his chest. One was already peeling from the heat and sweat sliding down his skin. He wondered what she thought of the crescent-shaped scratches. But, she didn't say a word.

"Alright dear, be careful on the stairs." Was all she said before she moved over to sit with his Grandmother.

He took a breath and held it for a moment before releasing it slowly.

Despite his slowly bubbling excitement, he did take the stairs carefully. If only because Boots had started wiggling in his arms and it was difficult to carry her and a basket of clothes. But, he didn't want to put her down either. This was the innocent Boots, who laughed and befriended everyone. Including giant cockroaches. His Boots was still a smiling and generally happy little girl, but sometimes her smile would fade and she'd call out names or cry in her sleep at the horrifying memories of a time she barely remembered.

_They all had their scars, physical or not. As much as his mother had hoped Virginia and its large airy house in the country would heal them…it didn't._

"Especially for me." He thought glumly, mind flashing through the seven different therapists, a long stay at the hospital and several suspensions from fights where he sent _someone else_ to the hospital.

He liked Mr. Jones, though. Maybe he'd tell him about this dream when he woke up. Gregor hadn't quite managed to trust him enough to tell him about the Underland, but he had hinted at it enough he got the feeling the man had started coming up with theories. Most of which were probably false.

A smile crept over his lips as he pushed open the door to the laundry room.

No one who didn't see it themselves could ever guess at the Underlands existence. It's beauty, and it's horror.

No, Mr. Jones probably thought he had been involved in some sort of gang. He was nice about it though, never pushed too hard for him to talk about things he wasn't comfortable sharing.

He set the basket down and stared at the grate that started it all.

He never thought he'd see it again, in a dream or otherwise.

"Ge-go, down!" Boots wiggled and squirmed in his grip. "I play. I play."

He laughed and set her down, but didn't let go of her hand.

"Say, Boots. Want to go on an adventure?" He grinned down at her.

How crazy was it that he wanted to go down there after everything that happened?

'But it's true.' He glanced at the grate waiting for the wisps of currents. 'Even after everything that happened, one of the reasons I crashed the way I did in Virginia was because I realized I could never go back.'

_And since it's a dream..._

A giddy feeling rushed through him as the grate began to bang.

"Ad-tue?" Boots questioned, eyes following his towards the grate.

"Yeah." He breathed.

_He could see everyone again. As they were, not as the broken people they became._

"I go. I go!" Boots giggled and started towards the grate, not understanding but still a curious two-year-old that wanted to poke everything that moved.

_Luxa. Vikus. Ripred. Mareth. Nerissa. Aurora. Temp and Tick. Even, even…._

This time he caught Boots before she dove into the grate herself. He hugged her to his chest and they rolled into the darkness together.

_Even..._

The currents caressed his skin as they drifted down, deeper and deeper into the earth. Boots giggled and laughed. Though he knew it was foolish Gregor couldn't help, but keep an eye out for a pair of large black wings as the light from the laundry room faded away.

As they reached the end, Gregor twisted in a way his mind remembers but his body didn't to land on his feet. He winced at the pull of strained muscles, but forgot about it soon after because, because…

He was here.

They had landed together in the Underland once more.

_He could even see Ares._


	2. Chapter 2

He stood there for a few moments blinking in the darkness as the currents slowly faded away. Boots was squirming in his arms again, a foul smell was slowly seeping out of her.

'Oh yeah,' He thought as he held back a chuckle and started towards a distant light, that he knew were the crawlers. 'The reason why they liked her at first was because of her smell.'

He heard the patter of insect feet on stone and finally released the wiggling Boots to run ahead. He could trust the crawlers with her. He squeezed through the narrow passage and into the torchlight at a much more sedate pace than he had the first time. He nearly chuckled at the thought of himself stumbling panicked after Boots. In retrospect, the crawlers were probably the best possible creatures to run into down here. Even the humans could be…difficult.

He turned his mind away from Solovet with some effort, but Henry sprung to mind in her place. Although his actions didn't bring the white-hot anger and suffocating sorrow he knew it brought Luxa, he still wasn't sure how he'd face the other boy with a straight face.

'It's just a dream, though.' He shrugged as he inched the last few centimeters out of the crevice. 'So, it should be fine.'

_He pushed the thought of Mrs. Cormaci reacting to his distressed state aside._

His eyes landed on the crowd of surprised insects. The group of crawlers no longer scared him as it did before and he even felt a smile tug at his lips at the thought of Temp being among the ones present. Perhaps even Tick was here.

"Ah, hello." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm Gregor and this is my sister Boots. I'm sorry, but we're kind of lost? Can you help us?"

"Bee-bug, Ge-go! Bee-bug!" Boots toddled over and tugged at his shorts, grinning wildly.

His smile widened. "Yes, Boots. They are big bugs, but that's a little rude. You should ask them their names."

"Nam's." She replied seriously then turned with wide-eyed innocence. "Nam's? Bee-bugs?"

What followed was as amusing explosions of introductions from the excited crawlers, that he knew he'd never remembered but was sure Boots somehow would. She was a smart kid like that. When things settled down they then turned to him and asked about Boots being a Princess like before. This time Gregor laughed.

"Yeah, she's our little princess."

Boots grinned up at him. Not knowing what it meant, but understanding it was a compliment of some kind.

"I poop." She repeated proudly.

He nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, you did little girl."

The run to the stadium was just as dizzyingly even though he partially knew the way. Going with the crawlers was different from flying on…. He shook his head and pushed that thought away. It had been years, he decided. Years since he had been through these tunnels, so it was understandable that he wouldn't remember every twist and turn.

He took a deep breath before they entered the area, squinting his eyes in preparation for the sudden influx of light and hoping against hope that he would freeze like a complete fool when he caught sight of his friends. As they entered the arena he tried not to smile at the sudden stillness. Now that he wasn't so focused on freaking out, he could even make out the shocked looks of the people on the lowest seats. He focused on them instead of the bats over his head.

_He was right there. He knew he was right there. If he just looked up then he'd see him. Alive. And with a traitor on his back._

He didn't look up, and he didn't fight Boots when she darted over to the ball a stunned player must have dropped. He wondered what sort of game they had been playing. What were the rules? He never had the time to even wonder before.

_And thinking of silly games kept his mind from stuttering to a stop when he caught sight of the arrogant, proud and impossibly small girl who was smirking lightly at his baby sister. No scars. There was pain in her eyes, but not nearly as much as there would be._

Those eyes snapped shut automatically when Boots jabbed her fingers in them and Gregor couldn't stop the laughter that tumbled out of his lips.

"Guess she's smarter." He grinned at her.

A pang went through him at the narrowed eyed look he received.

"But not you. Or you would not say such things to a queen."

Gregor laughed again. Oh yes, he would. And he said as much.

"I probably would anyway."

"I am Queen Luxa of Regalia." Her back was rigidly straight and her chin jutted up as her face took on a haughty look. "And you will not address me in such a way."

He couldn't help the sad smile that crossed his lips. This Luxa was so…

_She's just a kid._

He dropped into an overly dramatic bow, if only to hide the shine of tears in his eyes.

"I apologize, oh, great Queen of Regalia. I did not mean to insult the pride of one of such an esteemed position as yourself."

_His Luxa would have laughed, but this one just looked confused. He wondered how far he could push this dream. How far could his imagination stretch? What changes would he make, before he woke up again in a soft bed in the countryside alone and broken?_

The little girl that had replaced his Luxa shook off her confusion and sniffed to cover up her lost composure.

"I suppose I will forgive." Curiosity light her eyes as she looked over Gregor and Boots, who was now busy bouncing the ball at his feet. "What are you called, Overlander?"

"I'm Gregor and this is my sister Boots." He didn't elaborate on her name this time. It seemed unnecessary.

Boots looked up at the sound of her name and sent Luxa an award-winning smile.

"Pu-ple." She held out her hands for comparison.

"Yup, her eyes are purple. They're very pretty aren't they Boots?"

Luxa flushed a vivid pink all the way down to her fingertips and suddenly Gregor wished this dream would never end. Why couldn't Luxa have remained this way? Not untouched by sorrow, but at least not so worn by it. He looked down. It wasn't fair.

Once she managed to control herself Luxa continued.

"You, Gregor the Overlander and the baby must bathe."

This time he nodded. "Okay."

She blinked, then nodded in return and turned to the crawlers who were still chittering to themselves over the majesty of Boots. He smiled at them. When they noticed the attention was now on them the leader came forward to barter a deal. Gregor felt the smile stretch into a grin at Luxa's attempt at negotiation and the crawler's causal rebuttal. Honestly, no one gave them as much credit as they should.

"Go ahead and give them five baskets." He butted in, ignoring the indignant look he received he turned to the crawlers and bowed more seriously than he had to Luxa. "Thank you, for bringing us here. If you had not found us, I'm sure my sister and I would have been lost forever."

That may have been an exaggeration, after all, he knew the Regalia scouts would have gotten them if the crawlers hadn't. But, he felt like they deserved the praise anyway. They had kept his sister alive through thick and thin. The leader turned to him and although he'd never be as good as Boots in deciphering their expressions, he thought the crawler was just as surprised as the gaping Luxa beside him.

"Yes, we shall give you five baskets and our thanks for bringing the Overlanders to us safely." A familiar voice cut in cheerfully.

"Vikus!"

Gregor took a deep breath and turn toward the voice.

There he was, standing tall and proud with that same twinkle in his eye that both comforted and frustrated him. He released his breath slowly as violet eyes turned to him with a hint of pride and interest.

_"I believed you were the Warrior the first time I laid eyes on you."_

Was that what was running through his head now as he looked over Gregor's appearance? How alike he looked to his father? How he could be the Warrior Sandwich foretold?

Gregor pushed back the anger, hoping none of it showed on his face, and focused on how strong and healthy the man looked. So unlike the thin, paralyzed man Gregor had last seen him as. He watched in silence as the deal was struck and the crawlers left.

"Bye, Bye Bee-bugs!" Boots shouted, waving wildly.

A ripple went through the group with a flurry if clicks, Gregor was sure was awe-filled remarks in their own language about Boots. A small smile tugged at his lips. No one really thought much of them, but Gregor had learned their worth. Their bravery, their intelligence. And most of all their unshakable loyalty to those who they considered worthy.

"Tell me, Overlander, are you from….New York City?"

Gregor turned to him.

"Yeah, yeah we are." He blinked up at the man staring into his violet eyes, hoping he looked innocently confused. "We fell through a grate in our laundry room."

_He got better at lying with time. It's not like he could tell anyone why he was the way he was and he couldn't just not say anything at all. Doctors were pushy. Wanted to know why. They almost had a huge problem when one of the Psychiatrists got it in her head that Gregor's dad abused him... Needless to say, he learned to bend the truth._

There were still cues. Lizzie always told him that he tended to look people dead in the eye when he lied and he'd blink slowly as if he was consciously aware of his every move. But these were not the same people he once knew. They didn't know him.

Instead of calling him out, like Gregor half expected, Vikus smiled a little sadly.

"Yes, the currents carried you safely to the ground. Had they not, I am afraid we would not have met."

Gregor nodded, thinking about how he had freaked out last time and had tried to run for the exit. He glanced back there briefly, wondering if he should do it again for old times' sake. But, the image of a reclining traitor on the back of a glossy black back glued his feet to the ground. He took a breath. Then another.

"So," He started slowly. "After a bathe can we go home?"

He figured it'd be odd if he didn't ask.

Vikus' eyes grew even sadder and Gregor was reminded of how hard this man had tried to make everyone happy and how much he had suffered for it. He decided not to fight him too much. He didn't want to burden him further, even if it was just a dream.

Boots tugged at his shorts.

"Home now?" She questioned.

Gregor patted her head but didn't answer. Instead, he turned to look at the Underlanders solemnly.

"I take that as a no."

Luxa looked away a frown tugging at her lips.

"It is simple to fall down, but the going up requires much giving," Vikus replied softly.

Gregor nearly snorted. They didn't have much trouble getting him home after every misadventure he had down here. He was sure now that Vikus had his thoughts on the prophecy. The first of many that would make his life living hell, yet paradoxically give his life meaning.

"Let us go to the palace," Luxa said shortly and leaped to Aurora with much less flair than he remembered.

'It must be because I didn't make a fool of everyone by faking them out with my sprint.' He rolled his eyes.

A flashed of pitch black wings caught his eyes and he stared after a familiar figure darting after Luxa and Aurora. White hot pain splashed through him like a tidal wave. He closed his eyes to ward off the tears, but was greeted with images of death and blood instead. He took a breath. Then another. The giddy feeling that had come over him at the thought of revisiting these memories dwindled into nothing in the face of old wounds.

A hand landed lightly on his shoulder.

Gregor sucked in another breath. It was a good thing he didn't have anything vaguely sharp on him, else Vikus might have lost a finger. That's what happened to the first person he sent to the hospital. Got to close when Gregor was lost in his memories and ended up with a pen halfway through his hand.

Boots was tugging at his leg, chanting his name.

He opened his eyes and released a breath. With some effort he focused on Vikus's moving lips, trying to make out the words through the buzzing in his ears.

"I am truly sorry Overlander. I know this must be difficult for you. You must feel as though you have been trapped in a dream."

"Yeah," Gregor agreed softly. "This who thing feels like one big dream."

'I'm afraid of it continuing, yet terrified that'll it'll end at any moment.' He thought.

His shoulders slowly relaxed and he knelt down to pick up Boots. He held her for a moment, hiding his face in her curls before he finally stood. He gave Vikus a wavering smile.

"Well, are we going to the palace? Luxa, or is it Queen Luxa, said something about a bath?"

Vikus looked at him for a moment, his face unnervingly blank before a small smile curved his lips as well.

"Yes, I shall accompany you to the palace and we shall have you bathed and fed properly."

Gregor nodded resolutely and fell in step with the man. He glanced at the guards and people still hanging about trying to find familiar faces in the crowd. Some caught his eye, but he could not place their names or even where he interacted with them.

"What are you called, Overlander?" Vikus questions.

He turned back to him. "Ah, I'm Gregor and this is Boots."

Vikus tried to start a conversation, but Gregor didn't respond past the bare minimum for politeness sake. He already knew the answers to any questions he could ask and after that almost panic attack, he was too drained to fake interest in anything else. Vikus caught the mood after a couple of tries and gave up. They stepped through the moth warning system without a word.

Gregor felt his eyes burn once more when he caught sight of the beautiful city.

It was funny how much he had ached to see this place.

_His mother didn't understand. She never said anything, but Gregor knew she held a wretched hatred for the place that had hurt her family so much. Boots, barely remembered and Lizzie wasn't as involved. Even his father struggled at times to understand Gregor's obsession. His own time in the Underland having been tainted by the horrid memories of imprisonment._

'None of them knew.' He sighed softly, feeling his shoulders relax further as his eyes roved over the buildings and people. 'They didn't understand that somehow despite all the pain and danger, in its own strange way this place had become like a home to me.'

"Welcome to Regalia, Gregor the Overlander."

And now he was back.

_A part of him, a large part situated deep in his chest where he had buried all of the hurt and pain and memories, didn't want this dream to end._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finished the Prophesy of Bane last night and just finished The Curse of the Warmblood before writing this. Dammit, Solovet. And Ares! You poor, poor thing. Your pain hurts my soul. And Hamnet…oh you poor dear. You didn't deserve that end. My eyes hurt. I cried like a baby at the end of The Curse of the Warmbloods. It's just so heart-wrenching. It also made me realize that the way I write now (in both fics and my original stories) draw heavily from my favorite series as a kid/early teenager. Things like Harry Potter, Gregor the Overlander, The Darren Shan Saga. All of them start out almost light-hearted with darker themes here and there, then they dive headfirst into the darkness. Ah, the feels. They hurt so much. But, I get to reread and then imagine how things would be different if Gregor knew the events ahead of time. It probably won't prevent everything, but it's cathartic, you know?
> 
> Anyway, I'm off to go start the Marks of Secret, despite the fact that I really should be studying for a midterm.


	3. Chapter 3

It was easier to focus on the magnificent buildings and the wide-eyed people watching from windows, than old friends and heart wrenching memories. He smiled at a little boy, only a few years older than Boots. The boy blinked his wide violet eyes and grinned back, but his mother pulled him away and he disappeared from their sight.

Gregors smile faded slightly.

Of course, they'd be wary of him. With King Gorger's insanity keeping the Underland on the edge of a war and then the sudden appearance of two Overlanders that could easily fulfill a series of prophecies, all of which revolving around the extinction of their own race and possibly all others in the Underland…well, he'd probably be wary too. He ducked his head and stared at his feet. Boots, ignoring the mood, wiggled happily in his arms. Without looking he could tell she was waving at everyone with a wide smile.

"Hi!" She said again and again.

Vikus chuckled beside him. Gregor looked up again, studying the older man's face. His wrinkles weren't as deep, and his eyes seemed brighter than when Gregor last say him. He was giving Gregor a strange look, he couldn't really decipher. A mix of curiosity, interest, and something else. Gregor was never good at reading expressions, but it sort of looked like concern.

Gregor wondered if his mind was on the Prophecy.

_(His stomach churned at the thought. He wondered how long he'd be like this. Would he wake up soon, or would he have to relive everything again? The thought made him shiver. He wasn't sure whether it was from fear or hope. Maybe it was a little of both. He squashed the thought immediately. No point in thinking of the future. Give live in the now.)_

He turned to Vikus.

"Tell me about this place."

He knew everything the man would say as they continued their walk to the palace. It was nice, though, to listen to the pride in his voice when he talked about his people. He started to look around again at the spiraling buildings carved with a multitude of images. All of them had a story, Gregor knew. He glances down a side street. There was a market down there if he remembered it properly. Luxa had taken him there during the many times he'd come to visit while his mother was still recovering. Another street led to a park filled with carved animals, slides and hollowed tunnels for children to play. He remembered that street well enough because of the store on the corner. It sold glass trinkets that reflected rainbows when held up to light. The owner put the figurines on display and with some well-placed torches, the colors danced across the street.

He shifted Boots to his other hip. "Look, little girl, aren't those pretty?"

"Pweetty." She replied in awe.

Vikus laughed. "Perhaps, you would like a more thorough escort tomorrow?"

Gregor blinked.

'Wait? How long does he think I'll stay here?' He glanced up towards the palace, revealed by a twist in the road. 'We were only here barely a day before we started on the quest.'

_(Then again, didn't he start the whole thing by trying to escape with Boots in the middle of the night? Maybe Vikus had planned on taking longer to prepare for the quest, or wanted to confirm that Gregor was the warrior…)_

He shook his head free of stray thoughts and smiled hesitantly. "Yeah, that'd be nice. But, um, when can we go back home? My mom is going to be really worried."

Maybe he was hamming up the worry a little bit, it was hard to fake the sheer panic he had felt the first time around at the thought of his mother coming home alone. Vikus didn't seem to notice, however, as he looked away immediately when Gregor started to ask. He looked down himself. It didn't really bring him any joy to make Vikus guilty. To Gregor he had been like a grandfather figure. One who made mistakes, but always wanted to do what was right for his home and people.

"Perhaps it is best that we talk of this after you are bathed and fed." He replied smoothly.

"Oh, ok."

They had reached the palace walls down. Gregor looked up at the platform moving towards them and then back towards the city behind him. There was a small crowd watching them. Most of the adults tried to look busy when he looked, but many of the younger teenagers and children stared shamelessly.

"Hi, you!" Boots laughed and waved excitedly. "Hi!"

Several violet-eyed kids smiled and wave back. Gregor smiled down on Boots.

"You making friends, little girl?"

Boots laughed when he poked her stomach. "Ge-go! No! No!"

They got onto the platform once it came to a halt. Gregor watched as they rose above the buildings. He took a step forward and looked down at the dizzying height. The people that had been crowding around quickly became blurred specks.

_(He didn't feel the same utter terror that he used to when it came to heights. He wondered vaguely when that fear had left him. It was only sometime after they had moved to Virginia that he had noticed the lack of it. There wasn't a lot of tall buildings in the town they had moved to, but his new school had two stories. He had climbed to the roof one weekend when everyone else was at a game. He didn't remember what game. He just remembered their distant cheers as he stood on the edge, looking down. Without a hint of dread or fear.)_

He turned away from the ledge and walked into the building when the platform stopped. Vikus was half a step behind him.

"Good late day," Vikus said calmly, but Gregor noticed he was slightly closer to Gregor than the last time. His hand resting firmly on his shoulder. "Meet you Gregor and Boots, the Overlanders, brother and sister, who have most recently fallen among us. Please bathe them and then proceed to the High Hall."

Vikus hesitated for a moment before he squeezed his shoulder and left the room.

Gregor, blinked in surprised wondering what exactly had changed. He shook his head and turned to his old companions and smiled hesitantly.

"Nice to meet you." He repeated and got Boots to say hi as well.

Like before the stifling formality and awkwardness melted away by their laughter over Boots antics. He allowed himself to laugh as well, though was a pathetic little thing. Dulcet stepped forward to introduce herself and take Boots before also introducing Mareth and Perdita. Gregor smiled at all of them and tried not to stare at Mareth's perfectly healthy leg.

He followed them through the winding hallways towards the bathing rooms as he had before making small talk, though this time he tried to include Mareth and Perdita to no avail. They took their guarding job too seriously. Then again, considering what happened last time, perhaps they didn't take it as seriously as they should have. Gregor glanced at the doorways they passed along the way. They must have never expected an eleven-year-old kid to sneak out alone at night and leave the city. For them, that was known to be suicide, but he didn't know better. Back then at least.

He knew now that the Underground held many horrors.

The trembling started as soon as he was left alone. He slowly made it to the bath and sat on the edge, swishing his feet in the warm water as he tried to get his breathing under control. His hands clutched at his chest reflexively and he tried not to dig his nails into his skin again. He had taken the bandages off of his arms and put them with his clothes to be burned and didn't really want to ask someone to treat any other cuts and have to answer the inevitable questions.

He swallowed roughly and curled into himself as he drew his legs up and buried his face in his knees.

He should have just stayed in the apartment, instead of coming down here. Memories be damned. This was too much. He got to see his friends, but they weren't the ones he remembered. They were less….broken and didn't know him.

_(That's what hurt the most. Them not knowing him. The only time he got a dream that wasn't blood, pain, and death and the people he wanted to see most didn't know him.)_

'Is this some sort of punishment?' He wondered.

He took a breath, then another, and another.

After another minute of simply breathing, he slid into the bath and scrubbed himself as best he could. His skin was red and slightly tender when he got out, but the clothing left for him calm the irritation with its silky texture. He sighed softly.

'Punishment or dream or something else entirely.' He thought. 'It looks like I'm not getting out of it anytime soon. Just have to play alone.'

He stepped out of the bathroom to find everyone waiting for him. Dulcet looked over him, lingering slightly on the redness of his skin before smiling and handed Boots over to him. He smiled down at her as she showed him her new sandals.

Dulcet handed him a pack to carry Boots in, once he had finished showing Boots his own sandals. He thanked her softly as he shuffled her into it for their walk to the High Hall. They made their way through the hallways and stairwells in silence. Gregor, honestly, couldn't bring himself to change that.

_(As they grew closer to the hall, he couldn't help the sliver of dread at the thought of meeting Solovet again. He was torn on how he would act around her. He still hadn't forgiven her. The thought of experiments with viruses going on right now in some lab made his stomach roll and heart twist.)_

He resolved to simply go with the flow. There was no point in trying to oust traitors and war-mongers when he knew it would bring him now true satisfaction nor change much of anything. After all, the Luxa that looked down on him with cool distant eyes was not his Luxa. She would believe her family in a heartbeat over him, a strange Overlander boy.

He glanced at the open roof as he walked in, but didn't comment. He met Solovet with a strained smile, flinching slightly at her touch, though hopefully not enough for anyone to notice. When she reached to pat Boots' cheek he wanted to rip her hand away, but he controlled himself and ducked his head.

This time Vikus did not invite him to the balcony.

Gregor blinked at the obvious change, but move over to the table when he was gestured to do so. Dulcet helped him sit Boots in the high chair before standing by his own chair to wait for the future queen. Gregor wondered if she was late on purpose or if it was just a coincidence. It could be either when it came to Luxa. He tried not to smile at the thought of her deliberately waiting with Henry to make an entrance for the new Overlanders.

They swept into the room. Gregor's eye lingered in her hair for a moment, admiring the way it reflected the torchlight. It had grown out slightly after their first quest, but not to this length. At least, not as long as he had been there. He wondered if his Luxa's hair was long once more, now that the war was over and peace had been established with the gnawers.

He nearly punched the traitor when he grabbed him to whisper his silly joke. For a second his vision fractured in a familiar way before he pushed it back and laughed with everyone else.

He nodded politely to Euripedes and Aurora when they swept into the room.

_(He was grateful, in a twisted self-loathing sort of way that Ares wouldn't be at dinner, though he couldn't help but wonder why. Aurora had shown up, after all.)_

'Perhaps they had an argument.' He thought, glancing at Henry. 'Ares didn't talk much about it, but he implied heavily that they got into fights often near the end.'

As they sat down, he asked about the bonding once more but refrained from making light of it by asking what they did outside of ball games. He deliberately did not bring up bonding with crawlers, not wanting the two royals to repeat their nasty rant on the subject. Though he felt compelled to ask something in its place.

"Do you bond with other creatures here?"

_(Memories ghosted in front of his eyes. Luxa, chin up and trying desperately to keep everything from falling apart once more with a ragged Ripred doing his best, as he always had, to protect his own people and finally establish peace. It was a bittersweet memory. Better than some. But, still saturated with emotions he didn't want to touch here, among strangers with the faces of his friends.)_

He received confused and incredulous looks from Luxa and Henry. Neither could imagine the thought of bonding with other creatures, even their other allies.

"Uh, I guess that's a no?"

Vikus chuckled. "No, out of all the creatures in the Underland, our closest allies are the fliers."

"So, you're not close enough with the others to bond with them?" Gregor translated softly.

Vikus nodded.

The food arrived just in time as his stomach had started making growling noises that he hoped no one else could hear.

"So what are you guys even doing down here anyway?"

He might as well get this conversation over with. He felt kind of like he was playing a video game, engaging boredly with npc dialog he already knew. The rest of dinner seemed to fly by as he repeated words he half-remembered and received answers he already knew. He deliberately didn't bring up going back home, not wanting to discuss such sensitive matters with people like Solovet and Henry in the room. He knew neither would take it well, though Solovet would at least pretend like she cared. It wasn't long before they were excused to bed and Dulcet led them back to the baths in order to wash Boots of the dinner she managed to get all over herself.

Gregor wouldn't pass up a bath either. As he settled in the warm water, he mussed over how this night would go.

He was half afraid that as soon as he went to sleep he'd wake up in Virginia again. But, he also didn't want to repeat that harrowing and ultimately useless escape mission he had taken the first time. As much as the changes scared him, he didn't want to risk people's lives over something he knew would fail.

He sighed and decided against it as he got out of the bathe and got changed.

Keeping things the way they were simply was worth the pain it had brought people he cared about.

'And besides.' He thought ruefully. 'I might end up just waking up from this dream as soon as I close my eyes.'

Dulcet's eyes lingered on his arms when he met her in the hallway, and he glanced down to find a couple of the cuts from this morning had started bleeding again from his rough scrubbing. He laughed it off and told her it was nothing.

_(They really weren't anything big. Especially compared to his other injuries. Injuries that left lasting and very visible scars. Those little nail bits were nothing. He didn't even notice their sting till she had caught his attention by looking.)_

As he laid in bed, with Boots snuggled into his side he tried to focus on his breathing instead of the worries flickering through his mind. The room was pitch black, and he struggled to keep his eyes open. But, fear was a decent motivator and he lasted for far longer than he had originally thought he would. Possibilities flickered through his mind.

_What if he woke up in his room in Virginia?_

_What would he do?_

_What if he didn't?_

_What if…this wasn't really a dream at all?_

The last one had him sitting up, droplets of cold sweat dripped down his back making him shiver. Boots shifted in her sleep babbling something about 'bee-bugs'. He smiled down at her and ran his hands through her hair. Slowly, he got up and shifted her to the center of the bed, cocooned by blankets.

He made his way out into the hallway and down familiar passages, ducking into empty rooms when the guards passed, until he reached a wooden door.

"Ah, hello." A whispery voice greeted him as he crept into the room. "I had wondered when you'd come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to pause reading through the Marks of Secrets cause I got mad at Luxa all over again. Though I understand where she's coming from, it's still frustrating. I'll probably finish the series again this weekend though. Dunno if I'll have another chapter up this weekend though, I want to try and get my other stories updated.


End file.
